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Character actor who played the psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman in the TV comedy M*A*S*H

The long-running Us television comedy M*A*S*H, set during the Korean war, was often perceived as an allegorical look at the Vietnam war, which was still being fought when it began in 1972. But the television show focused less on the specific mindsets of Vietnam which had driven the nihilistic Robert Altman film on which it was based, and in tone was much closer to Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, with its comedic take on the intrinsic absurdity of war.

No character brought that home more clearly than Major Sidney Freedman, the psychiatrist who appeared in 12 episodes over the show's 11-year run. Freedman was played by Allan Arbus, who has died aged 95. His approach to the mental health of the soldiers, and medics, at the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital unit relied
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Character actor who played the psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman in the TV comedy M*A*S*H

The long-running Us television comedy M*A*S*H, set during the Korean war, was often perceived as an allegorical look at the Vietnam war, which was still being fought when it began in 1972. But the television show focused less on the specific mindsets of Vietnam which had driven the nihilistic Robert Altman film on which it was based, and in tone was much closer to Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, with its comedic take on the intrinsic absurdity of war.

No character brought that home more clearly than Major Sidney Freedman, the psychiatrist who appeared in 12 episodes over the show's 11-year run. Freedman was played by Allan Arbus, who has died aged 95. His approach to the mental health of the soldiers, and medics, at the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital unit relied
»

Actor and former fashion photographer Allan Arbus has died. He was 95.

Arbus' daughter Amy Arbus confirmed the news to The New York Times. She says the "M*A*S*H" actor died in his Los Angeles home on April 19. No cause of death was given.

Before he became a television staple, Arbus and his then-wife Diane were best known for their fashion photography business. They separated before Arbus' acting career took off, and he went on to marry Mariclare Costello in 1977. Though Diane committed suicide in 1971, her work continues to be shown in museums.

In addition to playing psychiatrist Major Freedman in "M*A*S*H," Arbus had roles in "Greaser's Palace," "Coffy," "The Electric Horseman" and "Crossroads." At the turn of the millennium, he ended his career on TV shows like "NYPD Blue," "Judging Amy" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Arbus is survived by Mariclare and his daughters Amy, Doon and Arin.
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Allan Arbus, who ran a photography business with his wife Diane Arbus before becoming an actor who starred in “Mash,” died April 19 in Los Angeles. He was 95. His daughter Amy (pictured above) confirmed his death to the New York Times.

Arbus played Major Sidney Freedman, a psychiatrist, on the long-running TV show. “Mash” star Allan Alda said he found Arbus so convincing that he often opened up to him. “I was so convinced that he was a psychiatrist I used to sit and talk with him between scenes,” Alda told the Archive of American Television.

Born in New York City, he left college to work at Russek’s Department Store, where he met Diane Nemerov, whose parents owned the store. The couple married and shot fashion photographs before Arbus served as a photographer in the Army Signal Corps in Burma during WWII. After the war, they began shooting for magazines including Glamour and Vogue,
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Allan Arbus, who ran a photography business with his wife Diane Arbus before becoming an actor who starred in “Mash,” died April 19 in Los Angeles. He was 95. His daughter Amy (pictured above) confirmed his death to the New York Times.

Arbus played Major Sidney Freedman, a psychiatrist, on the long-running TV show. “Mash” star Allan Alda said he found Arbus so convincing that he often opened up to him. “I was so convinced that he was a psychiatrist I used to sit and talk with him between scenes,” Alda told the Archive of American Television.

Born in New York City, he left college to work at Russek’s Department Store, where he met Diane Nemerov, whose parents owned the store. The couple married and shot fashion photographs before Arbus served as a photographer in the Army Signal Corps in Burma during WWII. After the war, they began shooting for magazines including Glamour and Vogue,
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In addition to M*A*S*H, Arbus appeared on countless classic TV shows including Taxi, The Odd Couple, Starsky & Hutch and Matlock. In more recent years, he had guest-starred on Judging Amy, NYPD Blue and Curb Your Enthusiasm. But he became most famous for his role as Freedman on M*A*S*H, despite only appearing in about a dozen episodes of the series.

Before his acting career, Arbus worked with his wife Diane Arbus (maiden name Nemerov), who became a famous photographer in her own right. Their photography business ended up securing contracts with major
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Allan Arbus, best known for his dozen appearances as the sarcastic psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman on the '70s series M*A*S*H, died Friday at his Los Angeles home, his daughter, photographer Amy Arbus, told The New York Times. He was 95.
In addition to numerous roles on TV and in movies, from Matlock and Curb Your Enthusiasm (in 2000) to Cinderella Liberty and Damien: Omen II, the New York City native, during his military service in the army, had been a photographer - as was, notably, his wife, Diane Arbus.
The two met when Allan was an employee in
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